the Hip must go on - Sun article - Printable Version
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Re: the Hip must go on - Sun article - direwolf74 - 10-24-2017
potsie Wrote:direwolf74 Wrote:I think people are reading way too much into Rob's comments in that article.Which part? I took him at face value. I thought it was a very candid interview. He always gives such thoughtful responses.
I just don't see how his comments would leave a sour taste in people's mouths, or make anyone feel uncomfortable. Like Senrab mentioned in his post above, I think it just sounds like a natural reaction at the time for a group of guys who had been writing and playing together for years as a single musical entity. I'm sure it must have been a little stressful for them back in 2001 for Gord to suddenly want to branch out as a solo artist, especially since they had such a successful thing going with the 5 of them.
Re: the Hip must go on - Sun article - WillyB - 10-25-2017
kieffer Wrote:I do wonder if his answer to how often he see’s/talks to Gord is a bit of a fib to prevent the interviewer from prying. In the sense of I can’t give you more information if I don’t know. Personally, it’s something I do on occasion.
Its like how I tell my wife that I don't know how to make the bed, so that I don't have to do it.
Re: the Hip must go on - Sun article - senrab - 10-25-2017
direwolf74 Wrote:potsie Wrote:direwolf74 Wrote:I think people are reading way too much into Rob's comments in that article.Which part? I took him at face value. I thought it was a very candid interview. He always gives such thoughtful responses.
I just don't see how his comments would leave a sour taste in people's mouths, or make anyone feel uncomfortable. Like Senrab mentioned in his post above, I think it just sounds like a natural reaction at the time for a group of guys who had been writing and playing together for years as a single musical entity. I'm sure it must have been a little stressful for them back in 2001 for Gord to suddenly want to branch out as a solo artist, especially since they had such a successful thing going with the 5 of them.
I'm a girl
carry on
Re: the Hip must go on - Sun article - senrab - 10-25-2017
potsie Wrote:senrab Wrote:rocketsan22 Wrote:...same vibe from LTR...
I felt that same vibe in LTR when he was talking about them accepting that Gord was going to be the center of attention during this tour (more than ever). It was going to be the other 4, and Gord "with" the audience instead of "with" the band. (I don't know if that made sense.)
That being said, I completely understand his pessimistic attitude of going on tour and Gord having a seizure on stage and the footage going viral. He sounded very protective of him.
The comments from Rob regarding Gord going solo, and the fact that he is giving an interview about a guitar stand hours before Gord passes away, make me a little uncomfortable because it disrupts the idealized image of the band that I have in my head. As a "band of brothers" I pictured the four of them being in the room (or at least the hospital) as Gord passed away. Yet it seems as if the news of Gord's passing would have possibly caught Rob off guard. Of course, these situations are complicated and how one deals with the emotions surrounding death is unfair to scrutinize. And maybe Gord's wishes were for only family to be present. Still, it seems strange.
Specifically regarding his comments on Gord's solo career, it is that kind of candidness that I appreciate and would like to see in an official biography. I can completely understand the band's trepidation in Gord putting out a solo record. He was their meal ticket and it would have been natural to worry that he might enjoy the freedom that comes with being in complete creative control over a project/band, so much so that he might not want to return to the democracy of the Hip. I would much rather read Rob's thoughts on what he was feeling in 2000/2001 when Gord was readying CMG, than read his "tall tales" (although of course I will). Sacrificing truth in service of a good story is part of artistic liberty, but the fact that Rob has seemingly prefaced his "still to come" book by basically saying that there will be some bullshit involved, sours it for a me a little.
Agreed. All that being said, he's got to be devastated. I feel so badly for all of them.
Re: the Hip must go on - Sun article - Killer Whale Tank - 10-25-2017
I'm sure they are all devastated. They worked with this guy for decades, shared buses and hotel rooms, went through all sorts of stuff good and bad - not to mention playing music with him on many thousands of occasions.
That being said, I think a lot of us have an idea of the Hip that is somewhat analogous to the idea that many Beatles' fans had of that band in their heyday: we imagine that they are all lifelong buddies who love each other profoundly. And this may be true. It's certainly the image of the band that GD cultivated. But it's probably more likely that some members of the band are much closer than others. We know that Gord and Paul are truly lifelong friends, Gord having imported him into the band in the first place. But it's not clear that (say) RB and GD were truly close pals in that way. Rather, they may have had a mutually respectful and friendly, but fundamentally *professional* working relationship. And as in any such relationship, there were sore points and bruised egos, overridden by all parties' profound commitment to the underlying shared enterprise (a commitment underlain by mixed motives, including - gasp! - pecuniary ones). That's the general vibe I've gotten from RB's interviews. We should also remember that Gord D moved away from the others years ago and would not have had the opportunities for easy socializing that come with proximity.
So I suspect that, once Gord D uprooted to TO at least, the band became less about pals rocking out (like The Beatles in the Cavern years) and more about a business partnership underlain by varying degrees of friendship.
The comment in LTR (was it by Rob?) about the band being very sensitive over the years about being reduced to Gord Downie's side-men was telling, as was the comment that - in effect - that's what they became on the last tour. It speaks to a degree of detachment, of looking after one's own turf, that grinds slightly against the idea of Five Best Buddies. As well as to a classy willingness to set all of that aside under the circumstances and allow Gord to go out on top.
Incidentally, there's nothing wrong with any of this. The all-for-one-and-one-for-all 'teenage gang' mentality of youthful rock and roll isn't necessarily something that can or should be sustained into mature adulthood and family life. I'd rather hear the Hip talking honestly about this stuff than maintaining some 'party line' that (frankly) I always found a little bit suspect even when it was operating full force.
Re: the Hip must go on - Sun article - gsmacleod - 10-26-2017
In response to a tweet by Catherine Mackenna where she references Rick Mercer's tribute, Rob tweeted this:
"The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it"
[Walt Whitman, "Preface" to Leaves of Grass]
Shane
Re: the Hip must go on - Sun article - potsie - 10-26-2017
gsmacleod Wrote:In response to a tweet by Catherine Mackenna where she references Rick Mercer's tribute, Rob tweeted this:
"The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it"
[Walt Whitman, "Preface" to Leaves of Grass]
Shane
Beautiful! I don't think you could sum up Gord's impact and importance more succinctly than that!